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Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Offering Off-Season Training And Stall Space

Harrah's Louisiana Downs is offering horsemen an opportunity to train and stable their Thoroughbreds at the Bossier City, La., racetrack during the months of October through March.

When the Evangeline Training Center closed in 2018, officials acknowledged that many Louisiana Thoroughbred trainers were in need of a facility to stable and train their racehorses. The Bossier City-Shreveport metroplex offers convenient proximity for shipping to Delta Downs in Vinton, La.; Fair Grounds in New Orleans; Remington Park in Oklahoma as well as upcoming live meets at Sam Houston Race Park and Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Space and availability for Thoroughbreds is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Horsemen are encouraged to contact David Heitzmann, Harrah's Louisiana Downs Director of Racing at (318) 741-2511 or (318) 741-2512 for rates and information.

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Hurricane Aftermath: Commission Orders Fair Grounds Open To Evacuees, Churchill Goes To Court

Last Thursday evening marked the second time this year that the Louisiana State Racing Commission has issued an emergency order related to stabling, reports nola.com. After a request from the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the commission ordered both the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Louisiana Downs in Bossier City to take in Thoroughbreds from Evangeline Downs (Opelousas).

Hurricane Laura's path of destruction left Delta Downs, in Vinton, La., in bad shape, and though an evacuation order was in place for the area, as many as 500 Quarter Horses and their caretakers had nowhere else to go. All managed to survive the hurricane, but now many are in temporary stabling locations with nowhere to train.

Evangeline Downs ended its Thoroughbred meet this weekend, and the horses at the Opelousas track would normally shift to Delta Downs for the next Thoroughbred race meet, while Delta's Quarter Horse population would shift to Evangeline. Since Delta is not in any condition to host racing, there simply aren't enough stalls to accommodate both populations at the same time.

The commission's decision would send Evangeline's Thoroughbreds to the Fair Grounds, while the Quarter Horses would be able to take up residence at Evangeline. However, Churchill Downs, Inc., the Fair Grounds' parent company, has said that the New Orleans track is not prepared to take on horses at this time. The track is in the midst of preventative maintenance, New Orleans has been a hotspot for Covid-19, and hurricane season is not yet ended.

“We would love to help,” Fair Grounds attorney David Waguespack said during Thursday's commission meeting, according to crescentcitysports.com. “We're just not able to do what the Commission wants us to do.”

The commission's order included that both Fair Grounds and Louisiana Downs provide: stabling for the horses, “customary accommodations” for their caretakers, training hours, and the necessary security and maintenance staff.

On Friday, Churchill's lawyers lodged a legal challenge asking an Orleans Parish judge to halt the order. A hearing is scheduled for this Friday, Sept. 11.

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Karl Broberg Repeats As Leading Trainer At Evangeline Downs

There was a long time during the Thoroughbred season at Evangeline Downs this summer where it appeared that Karl Broberg would not defend the training title he has won so many times before. That was until the night of August 19, when horses trained by Broberg won six of the nine races on the program and catapulted him back to the top of the standings. Broberg totaled 23 wins for the season, which was six more than a three-way tie for second at 17 wins between Sam David, Jr., Ron Faucheux and Eduardo Ramirez. For the season, Broberg's horses earned $374,150 in purse money, which also topped the table.

The complete top 10 trainers' standings were: Karl Broberg (23 wins), a three-way tie for second with Sam David, Jr., Ron Faucheux, and Eduardo Ramirez at 17 wins each, a three-way tie for fifth with Allen Landry, Lee Thomas and Dale White, Sr. at 15 wins each, a two-way tie for eighth with Keith Bourgeois and Bret Calhoun at 14 wins each and a three-way tie for ninth with Sam Breaux, Kenneth Hargrave and Corale Richards at 13 wins each.

Tim Thornton handily won the jockeys' title at Evangeline Downs in 2020 with 73 victories from 339 starts for a 22% winning percentage. When you add 71 second-place and 47 third-place finishes to his record, that gives Thornton an in-the-money percentage for the season of 56%. Thornton and runner-up Diego Saenz were the only riders whose mounts earned in excess of one million dollars in purse money with Thornton's horses picking up $1,268,850 and Saenz's earning $1,050,461.

The complete top 10 jockeys' standings were: Tim Thornton (73 wins), Diego Saenz (56), Gerard Melancon (46), Devin Magnon (31), Jansen Melancon (26), Ty Kennedy (25), C.J. McMahon (22), Joe Stokes (21), and a two-way tie for ninth between Jarred Journet and E.M. Murray at 18 wins each.

It was a stellar season for Dale White, Sr. at Evangeline Downs. White not only finished in the top five in the training standings, he also managed to finish the meet as the leading owner with 14 victories from 84 starts, ending up four wins ahead of a tie for second between Elite Thoroughbred Racing LLC and End Zone Athletics, Inc. White also added 13 seconds and 17 thirds for an in-the-money percentage of 52% for his runners. His horses earned $248,180 in purses, which was also led the standings.

The complete top 10 owners' standings were: Dale White, Sr. (14 wins), a two-way tie for seconds with Elite Thoroughbred Racing LLC and End Zone Athletics, Inc. at 10 wins each, a two-way tie for fourth with Earl Hernandez, Keith Hernandez & John Duvieilh and Red Rose Racing at 9 wins each, a two-way tie for sixth with Rylee Grudzien and M & M Racing at 7 wins each and a three-way tie for eighth between Allied Racing Stable, LLC, Norman Stables, LLC and Whispering Oaks Farm, LLC at 6 wins each.

Live racing at Evangeline Downs will resume on September 17 with the beginning of the American Quarter Horse meeting. Post time for the season will be 5:35 pm Central Time.

For more information on racing at Evangeline Downs, visit the track's website at www.evdracing.com. Evangeline Downs' Twitter handle is @EVDRacing and the racetrack is also accessible on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EvangelineDownsRacing.

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Jockeying Around With Art Collector: Hernandez Filling In For Exercise Rider Aboard Derby-Bound Colt

Jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. has been filling a rather unusual role for the past several days at Churchill Downs. During the special training hours set aside for Kentucky Derby contenders, Hernandez has been out on the track as his mount Art Collector's exercise rider rather than watching him from the rail.

Jockeys for big races will often be aboard their mounts for major workouts, but day-to-day exercise riders are usually tasked with galloping and jogging.

Trainer Tommy Drury indicated that the colt's regular exercise rider, James Lopez, has been undergoing quarantine due to the COVID-19 protocols at Churchill Downs.

“Tommy asked me a few days ago if minded just coming out and getting on him,” Hernandez explained. “I said 'of course I don't, I'm here every morning anyway.' It's like being back at Evangeline Downs again. When I first started riding, I had to gallop everything I rode.”

When Art Collector shipped in to Churchill from the Skylight Training Center on Wednesday last week, Hernandez got a leg up on the colt for Thursday morning's training session, a scheduled gallop.

Art Collector was a bit of a handful during a gallop under jockey Brian Hernandez on Aug. 27 at Churchill Downs

“The first morning after he came back from Skylight he was out here at Churchill and I galloped him,” Hernandez said. “He's normally a pretty laid-back horse, but that morning there it was a little later and we had a lot of traffic, he got a little aggressive and wanted to jump up and go. A couple times I had to reach up and slow him down. My wife, she was making fun of me later that night. She said if I was her gallop boy, she'd have fired me!”

Art Collector and Hernadez went through a five-furlong workout together on Friday, covering the distance in 1:00.80, before jogging one mile on Saturday and two miles on Sunday.

“With these good horses like that, you want to get on them every day if possible,” Hernandez said. “Getting on him the last couple mornings and jogging him, you know where you're at with him. He's jogging off great right now, and seems to be really happy with himself… He's a happy horse and he seems to be going the right way right now.”

The colt's regular exercise rider Lopez was able to return on Monday for a scheduled gallop.

“The good news is that Brian's been on this horse so much in the mornings, and he knows him well,” said trainer Drury, for whom Art Collector is a first Derby starter. “He's a very kind horse. The first day we galloped him here, that's probably the most animated I've ever seen him on the racetrack, so I was glad that Brian was able to get along with him.

“At this point, you're not so much thinking about training, you're just keeping him happy. He's fit and ready to roll.”

Thanks to the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters Association (NTWAB), which has assembled a group of pool reporters providing independent reporting to members unable to be on the Churchill Downs grounds this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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